SafeWise included communities with 5,000 or more residents. Raisin Township, with a population of 7,468 residents, ranked as Michigan’s safest community.

Canton had 91,173 residents based on the last U.S. Census – a number local officials say has grown – but SafeWise listed the population at 88,958. The next most populated community on its list was Farmington Hills with 81,040 people.

The vast majority of communities on the list had far fewer residents. Canton’s 45th ranking came after the township missed last year’s SafeWise list altogether.

“I would think to be 45 is a good sign,” township Supervisor Phil LaJoy said. “It’s hard to compare Canton to some other communities that are very small. It’s just a whole new ballgame.

“We’re always trying to get better,” he said. “It’s what our approach has always been. We’re always shooting to be the best.”

SafeWise used FBI statistics and factored in community population to determine the odds of violent and property crimes being committed for every 1,000 residents.

Canton made the cut while some communities of comparable size – Livonia, Westland, Dearborn – didn’t.

Plymouth ranked 24th on the list, just ahead of 25th-ranked Plymouth Township.

SafeWise cited “positive relationships” between Canton police and the community for the low crime rate and singled out programs such as Coffee with a Cop, informal gatherings intended to promote closer ties between police and residents.

“It is an honor to be on this list with many smaller communities,” Mutchler said, noting that the difference in population between Canton and most towns on the list “is an important distinction.”

Canton has routinely placed on low-crime lists – which officials welcome yet place in perspective.

“We don’t focus on the lists, as it were. We focus on safety in the community,” Mutchler said.